The increase in February pushed up the total value of new bookings for durable goods, costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years, to $200.8 billion. The rise in orders came after a 1.1 percent drop in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

While most of January's decline reflected weakness in demand for commercial airplanes, most of February's pickup came from a big bounceback in new orders for commercial aircraft and parts. Demand for other manufactured goods last month was somewhat sluggish.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, which can swing widely from month to month, durable-goods orders actually dipped by 0.2 percent in February, the first decline since November.

In other economic news, the number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week rose by a seasonally adjusted 3,000 to 324,000, the Labor Department reported. Claims are at a level that suggests a gradual improvement.

Meanwhile, new-home sales in February soared by 9.4 percent, the biggest increase since December 2000, as still-attractive mortgage rates lured buyers, the Commerce Department said in a separate report.

The over-the-month increase boosted sales of new homes to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2 million. Sales posted solid gains in all parts of the country in February. The pickup comes after sales dropped by 8.6 percent in January as bad weather kept house hunters and prospective buyers indoors.